1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to driven conveyor systems and, in particular, to a driven conveyor system for producing rotational motion on a carrier situated on the conveyor to thereby permit various operations to be performed on the carrier as it moves along the conveyor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Driven conveyors permit items to be automatically moved from one location to another and are widely used in the manufacturing industry for a variety of applications, including assembly and process lines. Typically, these conveyors include a series of driven rollers successively disposed to form a generally horizontal pass line. Each roller is located upon a driven shaft that is rotatably mounted at its ends on a conveyor frame. A main shaft extends along the frame underneath one end of each of the driven shafts. The main shaft is typically coupled to the driven shafts by a elastomeric belt so that rotation of the main shaft causes a corresponding rotation of the driven shafts and, therefore, the rollers. Examples of this type of driven conveyor can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,375 to F. J. Fleischauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,589 to J. M. Bylsma, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,255 to J. J. Shuttleworth et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,833 to F. J. Fleischauer et al.
In many applications, the items being manufactured are placed upon carriers which transport the item along the conveyor. Such carriers are especially useful for process lines in which parts being manufactured are to be moved between successive workstations or work areas for such operations as spray coating the parts with paint or some other finish and drying the parts in heated drying stations. When such parts are made by non-process line manufacturing processes, paint and drying booths are commonly used to coat and dry the manufactured parts. The parts are often disposed in these booths on an open-framed reel which rotates much like a ferris wheel to facilitate uniform and complete coating and drying of the parts. Although these open-framed reels have been utilized on carriers in process-line manufacturing, no system or apparatus has heretofore been disclosed which provides the advantageous rotation of the parts reel on the carrier while the carrier is situated upon the conveyor. More generally, no one has disclosed a carrier and conveyor system which provides any rotational motion on the carrier useful for performing functions on the carrier while it is situated on the conveyor. The aforementioned patents, while relating to driven conveyors, do not disclose or suggest such an apparatus.